Climatismhttp://www.desmogblog.com/taxonomy/term/6746/all
enClimate Skeptic Attacks PBS For Not Reporting Irrelevant Informationhttp://www.desmogblog.com/2012/09/25/climate-skeptic-attacks-pbs-not-reporting-irrelevant-information
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/head_in_the_sand.jpg?itok=Y9n0o1cf" width="200" height="133" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Recently, <a href="http://desmogblog.com/2012/09/18/petroleum-broadcasting-system-s-newshour-and-merchants-climate-doubt"><span class="caps">PBS</span> found itself on the wrong side of the climate change discussion</a>, when it <a href="http://desmogblog.com/2012/09/17/pbs-falls-fair-and-balanced-trap-airs-one-sided-interview-climate-skeptic">chose to air a one-sided, misinformation-laden interview</a> with climate skeptic Anthony Watts. During the interview for <span class="caps">PBS</span>’s Newshour, no attempt was made to air a differing opinion from a credible source, leaving Watts’ incorrect statements to be aired unchallenged.</p>
<p>Perhaps in an attempt to “balance” their one-sided interview with Watts, last week <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/july-dec12/icemelt_09-20.html">Newshour aired a segment</a> titled “<a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/july-dec12/icemelt_09-20.html">Arctic Icecap Shrinks to Record Low Level</a>,” in which Walt Meier from the National Snow and Ice Data Center discussed the implications, dangers, and causes of the Arctic ice melt. These causes and <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/25/opinion/boelman-arctic-tundra/index.html">concerns</a> have been documented in <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rocky-kistner/dwindling-arctic-ice-sign_b_1905212.html">studies and articles</a> all across the world, so there is no room for debate on this issue when the facts clearly show that the arctic ice caps are melting at a record.</p>
<p>But apparently for climate skeptics, one one-sided story isn’t enough to keep them happy for very long, and they have now decided to attack <span class="caps">PBS</span> for ignoring their talking points about melting polar ice caps.</p>
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<p>Leading the charge against <span class="caps">PBS</span> is noted <a href="http://heartland.org/steve-goreham">climate skeptic and Heartland Institute</a> “expert” <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/steve-goreham">Steve Goreham</a>, who tells us that Arctic ice melting isn’t a cause for concern because there’s so little ice in the arctic that it won’t make a “<a href="http://www.climatism.net/facts-about-global-warming/#icecap_melting">measurable difference</a>” if it all melts. But more importantly, Goreham tells us that <span class="caps">PBS</span> ignored the “elephant in the room” by not reporting on how the Antarctic ice sheet is actually expanding.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.climatism.net/facts-about-global-warming/#icecap_melting">Goreham’s own words</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>…<span class="caps">PBS</span> and Dr. Meier have ignored the elephant in the room. The elephant is the Antarctic Icecap. While satellite data shows that Arctic ice has been declining for the last 30 years, the same satellite data shows that Antarctic ice has been expanding for the last 30 years.</p>
<p>It’s interesting that climate scientists are so alarmed by declining Arctic ice. The Arctic Icecap is only 1‒2 percent of Earth’s ice, while the elephant, the Antarctic Icecap, contains about 90 percent of Earth’s ice. The climate models underestimated the decline in Arctic ice, but they are confounded by the growth in Antarctic ice. Data from Dr. Meier’s own National Snow and Ice Center shows that the extent of Antarctic sea ice for 2012 is greater than the 1979-2000 average. I wonder why he didn’t mention the good news about Antarctic ice on the <span class="caps">PBS</span> segment.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If Goreham is honestly wondering why the issue of “Antarctic ice expansion” wasn’t brought up in the <span class="caps">PBS</span> segment, the answer is obvious: Antarctic ice has nothing to do with Arctic ice. It’s the old “apples to oranges” comparison.</p>
<p>Climate scientists have long told us that Arctic ice would be the first to go as a result of climate change. And there are several reasons for that. <a href="http://www.livescience.com/23333-antarctic-sea-ice-global-warming.html?cid=co3847584">Natalie Wolchover of LiveScience explains it best</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
But if anyone had asked an actual scientist, they would have learned that a good year for sea ice in the Antarctic in no way nullifies the precipitous drop in Arctic sea-ice levels year after year — or the mounds of other evidence indicating global warming is really happening.<br /><br />
“Antarctic sea ice hasn't seen these big reductions we've seen in the Arctic. This is not a surprise to us,” said climate scientist Mark Serreze, director of the <span class="caps">NSIDC</span>.<br /><br />
“Some of the skeptics say 'Well, everything is <span class="caps">OK</span> because the big changes in the Arctic are essentially balanced by what's happening in the Antarctic.' This is simply not true.”<br /><br />
Projections made from climate models all predict that global warming should impact Arctic sea ice first and most intensely, Serreze said. “We have known for many years that as the Earth started to warm up, the effects would be seen first in the Arctic and not the Antarctic.<br /><br />
The physical geography of the two hemispheres is very different. Largely as a result of that, they behave very differently.”<br /><br />
The Arctic, an ocean surrounded by land, responds much more directly to changes in air and sea-surface temperatures than Antarctica, Serreze explained.<br /><br />
The climate of Antarctica, land surrounded by ocean, is governed much more by wind and ocean currents.<br /><br />
Some studies indicate climate change has strengthened westerly winds in the Southern Hemisphere, and because wind has a cooling effect, scientists say this partly accounts for the marginal increase in sea ice levels that have been observed in the Antarctic in recent decades.<br />
</blockquote>
<p>So, <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/thick-melt.html">according to actual climate scientists</a>, not only are the two unrelated, but the increase in Antarctic ice can actually be attributed to climate change. Goreham’s own talking points are therefore debunked by his own data.</p>
<p>But what Goreham is really trying to do is misdirect the public. He believes that distracting the public with a different issue will draw attention away from the real issue. This practice is all too common in both the media and politics, and is a tried and true <span class="caps">PR</span> tactic.</p>
<p>And here’s more on the <a href="http://www.climatism.net/facts-about-global-warming/#icecap_melting">non-issue of Arctic ice melts</a> from his website:</p>
<blockquote>
But, Arctic ice is floating in the Arctic Ocean. Even if all of it melts, sea levels would not rise by a measurable amount. In addition, Arctic ice has expanded and receded many times in history due to natural causes.</blockquote>
<p>Goreham isn’t a skeptic in the sense that he believes climate change is a hoax, but he is a firm believer that the activities of human beings have nothing to do with climate change. His quote above shows us that he’s a member of the “cyclical climate change” crowd – a crowd that chooses to bury its head in the sand and pretend the problem isn’t the result of our activities.</p>
<p><br />
There is ample evidence that tells us that A<a href="http://grist.org/news/at-least-70-percent-of-arctic-ice-loss-is-due-to-climate-change/">rctic ice melt is not cyclical</a>, but the result of human activities that have spurred on climate change. But as long as there is dirty energy industry money to fund think tanks and deniers like Heartland and Goreham, there will always be misinformation to tell us that the scientists are wrong.</p>
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<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6745">Steve Goreham</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10180">PBS</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10334">Newshour</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/939">climate change</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/946">arctic</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/4511">ice</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/947">antarctic</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9259">melt</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10335">Increase</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6746">Climatism</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/821">Heartland Institute</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5881">Emission</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6406">Carbon</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/4419">sea level</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/7714">Scientist</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5157">media</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/7148">Misinformation</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/10336">Misdirection</a></div></div></div>Tue, 25 Sep 2012 23:00:50 +0000Farron Cousins6545 at http://www.desmogblog.comSteve Gorehamhttp://www.desmogblog.com/steve-goreham
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><h1>
<img alt="Steve Goreham" border="0" height="250" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/steve-goreham-portrait.jpg" width="200" /></h1>
<h1>
​Steve Goreham</h1>
<h2> Credentials</h2>
<ul><li>
<span class="caps">M.S.</span> In Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois.</li>
<li>
<span class="caps">MBA</span> from the University of Chicago</li>
</ul><p><strong>Source: </strong><a href="#s1">[1]</a></p>
<h2> Background</h2>
<p>Steve Goreham is the Executive Director of the Climate Science Coalition of America and the author of <em>Climatism! Science, Common Sense, and the 21st Century's Hottest Topic</em>. He is a <a href="http://www.climatism.net/speaking-on-climate-change/">regular speaker</a> at events and radio talk shows where he is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9a18GMSeuwY">sometimes described</a> as a “climate change expert.”</p>
<p>Goreham's <a href="http://www.climatescienceamerica.org/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=18&amp;Itemid=27">profile on<em> Climatism.net</em></a><em> </em>describes him as an engineer and business executive with extensive experience at Fortune 100 public companies and private firms. They describe his book, <em>Climatism </em>as an “overview of the science, politics, and energy policy implications of the world’s misguided efforts to stop global warming.”</p>
<h2>
Stance on Climate Change</h2>
<p>“… the science clearly shows that global warming is due to natural causes, despite the tidal wave of world belief in man-made climate change.” <a href="#s2">[2]</a></p>
<h2>
Key Quotes</h2>
<blockquote>
<p>“The global wind industry is built on a foundation of sand—the hypothesis that man-made global warming is destroying Earth's climate.” <a href="#s3">[3]</a></p>
</blockquote>
<h2>
Key Deeds</h2>
<p><strong>July 7 - 9, 2014</strong></p>
<p>Steve Goreham was a <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20140714154246/http://climateconference.heartland.org/speakers/" target="_blank">speaker</a> at the <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/heartland-institute" target="_blank">Heartland Institute</a>’s Ninth International Conference on Climate Change (<span class="caps">ICCC</span>9) in Las Vegas, Nevada. <a href="#s9">[9]</a></p>
<p>DeSmogBlog has done in-depth research on the other speakers and sponsors from Heartland's <span class="caps">ICCC</span>9, which can be found <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140714160136/http://www.desmogblog.com/2014/07/08/return-denial-palooza-heartland-institute-hitches-anti-science-wagon-freedomfest" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
<p class="title"><strong>May 21 - 23, 2012</strong></p>
<p class="title">Steve Goreham was a <a href="http://climateconference.heartland.org/speakers/" target="_blank">speaker</a> at the <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/heartland-institute">Heartland Institute</a>'s 7th International Conference on Climate Change (<span class="caps"><span class="caps"><span class="caps">ICCC</span>7</span></span>).</p>
<p>DeSmogBlog<a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/heartland-denial-palooza-sponsors-have-received-67-million-exxonmobil-koch-and-scaife-foundations"> researched the co-sponsors behind Heartland's <span class="caps"><span class="caps"><span class="caps">ICCC</span>7</span></span></a> and found that they had collectively received <strong>over $67 million</strong> from ExxonMobil, the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Koch_Brothers" target="_blank">Koch Brothers </a>and the conservative <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Scaife_Foundations" target="_blank">Scaife family foundations</a>.</p>
<p><strong>June 30-July 1, 2011</strong></p>
<p>Goreham was a <a href="http://climateconference.heartland.org/steve-goreham/">speaker</a> at the <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/denial-a-palooza-round-6">Heartland Institute's Sixth International Conference on Climate Change</a>. <a href="#s4">[4]</a><br />
<br /><strong>May, 2010</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://rogerhelmermep.wordpress.com/2010/07/30/%E2%80%9Cclimatism%E2%80%9D-a-must-read-book-on-climate-alarmism/">Reportedly attended</a> the Heartland Institute's 2010 International Conference on Climate Change. <a href="#s5">[5]</a></p>
<p><strong>Nov 15, 2010 </strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkq8jwBAOto">Spoke</a> at a meeting of the <a href="http://www.c-corn.com/index.html">White County Tea Party Patriots </a>to discuss climate change. <a href="#s6">[6]</a></p>
<h2>
<strong>Affiliations </strong></h2>
<ul><li>
<strong><a href="http://climatescienceamerica.org/">Climate Science Coalition of America (<span class="caps">CSCA</span>)</a></strong> — Executive Director. <a href="#s7">[7]</a></li>
</ul><ul><li>
Network Systems Division at Panduit Corporation — Vice President (2005 – 2009)</li>
</ul><ul><li>
Pemstar — Sr. Vice President, Communications, (2003 – 2005)</li>
</ul><ul><li>
CellEngines — Chief Executive Officer (2001 – 2003)</li>
</ul><ul><li>
Motorola — Sr. Director Cell Phone Products (1997 – 2001)</li>
</ul><p><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="#s8">[8]</a></p>
<h2> Publications</h2>
<p>Goreham is the author of <a href="http://www.climatism.net/climatism/"><em>Climatism! Science, Common Sense, and the 21st Century's Hottest Topic</em></a>.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.ascotmedia.com/press_releases/author_steve_goreham_2010.html">media release</a> describes the book: “Goreham demonstrates that climate change is due to natural causes, not man-made emissions of greenhouse gases. Therefore, humanity is engaged in a futile effort to control the Earth’s temperature, imposing severe policies that will limit our freedoms and radically transform our way of life.”</p>
<p>He also<a href="http://climaterealists.com/index.php?tid=544&amp;linkbox=true"> publishes skeptical articles at <em>Climate Realists</em></a>, and contributes to conservative websites such as<a href="http://biggovernment.com/author/sgoreham/"> <em>Big Government</em></a>.</p>
<h2> Resources</h2>
<ol><li>
<p><a name="s1" id="s1"></a>“<a href="http://www.climatism.net/about/">About</a>,” Climatism.net. Accessed December 14, 2011.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><a name="s2" id="s2"></a>“<a href="http://www.climatism.net/climatism/">Climatism! the Book: Author's Note</a>,” Climatism.net. Accessed June 24, 2011.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><a name="s3" id="s3"></a>“Steve Goreham: Wind energy's house of cards” <em>Energy Tribune, </em>Aug. 31, 2010<em>. </em><a href="http://www.petroleumworld.com/lag10090601.htm">Republished by <em>petroleumworld</em></a>. Accessed June 24, 2011.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><a name="s4" id="s4"></a>“<a href="http://climateconference.heartland.org/steve-goreham/">Steve Goreham: Sixth Internatinonal Conference on Climate Change</a>,” climateconference.heartland.org. Accessed December 14, 2011.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><a name="s5" id="s5"></a>“<a href="http://rogerhelmermep.wordpress.com/2010/07/30/%E2%80%9Cclimatism%E2%80%9D-a-must-read-book-on-climate-alarmism/">'Climatism!': A Must-Read Book on Climate Alarmism</a>,”<em> Roger Helmer <span class="caps">MEP</span> Straight Talking</em>, July 30, 2010.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><a name="s6" id="s6"></a>“<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkq8jwBAOto">White County Tea Party Patriots hosts Steve Goreham, Climate Science Coalition of America</a>,” YouTube Video. Uploaded by <span class="caps">WCT</span>eaPartyPatriot on November 17, 2010.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><a name="s7" id="s7"></a>“<a href="http://www.climatescienceamerica.org/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=18&amp;Itemid=27">About the Climate Science Coalition of A</a>,” <span class="caps">CSCA</span>. Accessed December 14, 2011.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><a href="http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/personfactsheet.php?id=1357" name="s8" id="s8">ExxonSecrets Factsheet: Steve Goreham</a>.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><a name="s9" id="s9"></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">“<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140714160136/http://www.desmogblog.com/2014/07/08/return-denial-palooza-heartland-institute-hitches-anti-science-wagon-freedomfest" target="_blank">Return of Climate Denial-a-Palooza: Heartland Institute Hitches Anti-Science Wagon to Vegas FreedomFest</a>,” </span><em style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">DeSmogBlog</em><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">, July 7, 2014. Archived July 14, 2014.</span></p>
</li>
</ol></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/821">Heartland Institute</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/913">global warming</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/939">climate change</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2540">desmogblog</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2560">global warming blog</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2654">denial industry</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/3068">climate change denier</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/4046">global warming research</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/4047">climate misinformation</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5721">smogger</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6728">Sixth International Conference on Climate Change</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6745">Steve Goreham</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6746">Climatism</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6747">Climate Science Coalition of America</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6886">climate change skeptic</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/7705">climate denialism</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/7706">denial database</a></div></div></div>Sat, 25 Jun 2011 02:35:13 +0000Michael Fisher5478 at http://www.desmogblog.com